French President Emmanuel Macron named a new government Monday evening, putting together a team under Francois Bayrou, his fourth Prime Minister of the year, to drag the second-largest EU economy out of political crisis.

Mr. Macron named former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, 63, education minister in a new Cabinet under centrist Mr. Bayrou, announced Elysee secretary-general Alexis Kohler.

Another former premier, Manuel Valls, 62, returned as overseas territories minister, while former Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin became Justice Minister.

Both Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot kept their jobs, the Presidency said.

Lecornu, a 38-year-old loyalist with a keen political nose, has served in every government since Macron’s first election as president in 2017.

Conservative Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, and right-wing Culture Minister Rachida Dati, also stayed in their posts.

The difficult job of delivering a budget plan for next year falls to Eric Lombard, head of public-sector lender Caisse des Depots (CDC), who was named economy minister.

“I’m very proud of the team we’re presenting this evening,” Bayrou said on X, adding his “experienced” cabinet would aim to “rebuild trust”.

The inclusion of two former Prime Ministers indicates Mr. Macron’s desire for a heavyweight government that will enjoy stability and not share the fate of Mr. Bayrou’s predecessor, Michel Barnier, ousted in a no-confidence vote.

Mr. Bayrou had hoped to bring in figures from the left, right and centre to protect his government from possible censure, but his 35-member team does not include any members of the left-wing coalition New Popular Front.

Mr. Macron will assemble Mr. Bayrou’s team on January 3 for a first Council of Ministers meeting, the presidency said.

Mr. Barnier was brought down over his failure to win support for an austerity budget to shore up France’s shaky finances with spending cuts and tax rises.

The priority for 73-year-old Mr. Bayrou is to make sure his government can survive a no-confidence vote and that it passes a cost-cutting budget for 2025.

The unexpected comeback of Valls, premier from 2014 to 2016, as the head of the overseas territories ministry indicates the importance of the post after authorities were strongly criticised for their response to the deadly cyclone on the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, which killed at least 35 people.

Darmanin had long been known to covet the post of foreign minister, but after days of intense discussions will have to content himself with the justice ministry.

Far-right ‘backing’

Just before the official announcement, heavyweight right-wing politician Xavier Bertrand, who had been tipped for the health ministry, announced he would not be part of the government. He alleged that it had been formed with the implicit “backing” of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who will play a key role in ensuring its survival.

“The prime minister informed me this morning, contrary to what he had proposed yesterday, that he was no longer in a position to entrust me with responsibility for the justice ministry due to opposition from (Le Pen’s) National Rally,” Bertrand said in a statement.

“Despite his new proposals, I refuse to take part in a government of France formed with the backing of Marine Le Pen.”

Mr. Bertrand is a major irritant for the far right, which he has long opposed.

Ms. Le Pen on March 31, 2025 faces the verdict in an embezzlement trial on charges she denies. If convicted, she could lose the chance of standing in the 2027 elections and with it her best chance yet of winning the presidency.

The announcement came as France observed a day of mourning for victims in cyclone-hit Mayotte, France’s poorest overseas territory.

Mr. Bayrou, the head of the centrist MoDem group, which is allied to Macron’s party, was appointed on December 13. He is the sixth Prime Minister of Macron’s mandate.

Many already predict Mr. Bayrou will struggle to survive.

France has been mired in deadlock since Macron gambled on snap elections this summer in the hopes of bolstering his authority. The move backfired, with voters electing a parliament fractured between three rival blocs.

Le Pen suggested Macron has been weakened by months of political crisis and would eventually have to resign.

“I am preparing for an early presidential election,” she told French newspaper Le Parisien last week.

Only 34% said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their new head of government. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

France’s new Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who is still scrambling to name his government before Christmas, faced a fresh challenge Sunday (December 22, 2024): a historically low poll rating.

Even before he has properly started his job, a new poll carried out by Ifop for the French weekly Journal du Dimanche found 66% of respondents were unhappy with his performance.

Also Read: On French President Macron and his politics

Only 34% said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their new head of government.

Going back decades to 1959, Ifop said it had not seen such a low rating for a Prime Minister getting started in the job.

They questioned 2,004 people representative of the French population between December 11 and 18.

Mr. Bayrou is the sixth Prime Minister of President Emmanuel Macron’s mandate, and the fourth of 2024. Each has served for a shorter period than the last one.

Mr. Bayrou’s predecessor Michel Barnier was France’s shortest-serving premier, lasting only three months.

Appointed on December 13, Mr. Bayrou has yet to submit his cabinet choices to Macron.

But he told France 2 television on Friday (December 20, 2024) that he hoped his new team would be finalised over the weekend or “in any case before Christmas”.

Paris, France:

Francois Bayrou, one of few political heavyweights to have stood by French President Emmanuel Macron since he came to power in 2017, now faces his biggest challenge after finally being promoted to prime minister.

Bayrou, 73, heads the liberal Democratic Movement (MoDem) party which is allied to, but not part of, Macron’s centrist force and has supported the president ever since his victorious 2017 election campaign.

Three times a presidential candidate himself, in 2002, 2007 and 2012, and long cited as an obvious choice for Macron as head of government, he finally has his chance.

Bayrou was acquitted in February after a seven-year-long case over the fraudulent employment of parliamentary assistants by his party, the judge ruling that he was owed the “benefit of the doubt”.

Bayrou was named justice minister by Macron when he took the presidency in 2017.

He resigned the same year when the legal case was opened against him, but remained a key behind-the-scenes ally. His acquittal opened up a potential return to government.

He was regarded as the most likely candidate by commentators, even though his acquittal is still subject to an appeal by prosecutors.

Bayrou will have to navigate a tricky course as the sixth prime minister of Macron’s presidency after parliament toppled Michel Barnier on December 4.

Each successive premier has served for a shorter period than their predecessor and, given the composition of the National Assembly lower house, there is no guarantee that Barnier’s successor will last any longer than the three months that the right-winger was in office.

‘He hates him’

Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure, whose forces could prove useful for Macron in ensuring the stability of the next government, said on Wednesday he opposed naming Bayrou as he would embody “continuity”. 

Bayrou will also have to navigate hostility from the still-influential former right-wing French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

According to one source, “the priority for Sarko is anyone but Bayrou”.

Sarkozy, who still holds sway on the right despite criminal convictions since leaving office, even held talks with Macron at the Elysee on Sunday to make clear his feelings, a ministerial source, asking not to be named, told AFP.

“He hates him,” another source on the right added, saying Sarkozy’s hostility towards Bayrou dates back to his support for Socialist Francois Hollande in the run-off of the 2012 presidential elections after he was eliminated in the first round.

“He (Sarkozy) is totally off the leash on the subject,” added a pro-Macron lawmaker.

Bayrou has enjoyed a long and varied political career, which has seen him work with former right-wing presidents Valery Giscard d’Estaing and Jacques Chirac before backing Hollande in 2012.

Mayor of the southwestern city of Pau, Bayrou is a practising Catholic but also a staunch supporter of France’s secular system. 

He gained notoriety during the 2002 presidential campaign when he slapped on the face a child who tried to pick his pocket.

He won less than seven percent of the vote and was eliminated in the first round.

The father of six children, Bayrou is also the author of a biography of the 16th- and 17th-century French king Henry IV.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

French centrist party MoDem (Mouvement Democrate) leader Francois Bayrou. File
| Photo Credit: AP

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday (December 13, 2024) named centrist ally Francois Bayrou as Prime Minister, after a historic parliamentary vote ousted the previous government last week.

Bayrou (73), a crucial partner in Mr. Macron’s centrist alliance, has been a well-known figure in French politics for decades. His political experience is seen as key in efforts to restore stability as no single party holds a majority at the National Assembly.

Mr. Bayrou was recently cleared in a case alleging embezzlement of European Parliament funds.

Mr. Macron vowed last week to remain in office until his term ends in 2027.